And as well as gourmet food I'm being fed a wealth of information. “Bread and butter pudding was invented by some of the poorest people in London,” says Nicole, our guide.

Nicole is our East London food tour guide

“It used to be made with stale bread and as many currants as the makers could afford”.

I find that hard to believe as I fervently lick any lingering, creamy custard off the back of my teaspoon.

Bread and butter pudding at The English Restaurant

I’m on a food tour of East London with Eating London Tours, tucking into that most quintessentially British pud at The English Restaurant, in the heart of Spitalfields. Located in a restored 17th-century townhouse, with dark mahogany beams and old church pews for chairs, it is the perfect amalgamation of old-Dickensian décor and modern cuisine.

But before I’m allowed to nestle back into my comfy armchair, I’m whisked out of the door with promises of yet more edible East London delights, with stops and tastings perfectly calculated so that I don't quite satisfy my craving - thus confirming my sure return.

Though billed as a food tour, there’s so much more on offer here. Nicole shares historical snippets, personal anecdotes and points out quirky road signs that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Nicole points out quirky signsCredit:
Laiotz - Fotolia

“Down that street there, they found one of Jack the Ripper’s victims,” she adds, pointing behind me.

“Bread and butter pudding was invented by some of the poorest people in London”Nicole

While my impending tasting at London’s finest cheese mongers, Androuet, loses a little of its lustre, I’m none the less fascinated.

“And that there is the old Jewish soup kitchen,” she says, pointing behind her.

“There were nearly 100,000 Jews living in London in the early 1900s, and most of them were very poor. They had to bring their own bowls to the kitchen and were allocated a ladle of stew and a piece of bread. People with children were given more food, so often they would borrow children to get an extra portion of stew.”

But all around there are the marks of its varied and multi-cultural history - both architecturally as well as in their restaurants and food stalls, reflected so well on this tour.

Salt beef bagel at Beigel Bake on Brick Lane

We sample a selection of curries down Brick Lane, a traditional bacon butty on home made bread, a salt beef bagel from the most renowned Jewish bakery this side of the Atlantic, fish and chips out of old-school newspaper cones, a tipple of England’s finest beer in an East End boozer and finally – when you thought you had room for no more – a slice of wicked salted caramel tart.

I’m full, fuller than I think I’ve ever been before, but somehow I keep managing to find space for one more indulgent mouthful - and checking my diary to work out when I’ll be coming back.